Jets coach Herm Edwards attended his first Yankee game Friday night and walked away from the “House that Ruth Built” with an appreciation of why the Bronx Bombers have been so successful.

Edwards said he’d like to instill that feeling of pride in the Jets.

“When you go there, you understand why they win,” Edwards said. “You sit in the dugout and those players come by you and you shake their hand and talk to them, you say, ‘OK, that’s why these guys win.’

“When you talk to coach [Joe] Torre, when you go into the locker room, when you go to see Mr. Steinbrenner, and people say, ‘[You win because] you’ve got the best players,’ ” continued Edwards. “You’ve still gotta play. They don’t care about, ‘We’ve got the best players.’

Edwards, who took a tour of Monument Park, chatted for several minutes with Torre. He said the two expressed a desire to talk in greater detail about keys to being a successful coach or manager.

“We have some of the same fault lines, on how we handle guys,” Edwards said. “I’ve admired him from afar, and the pressure he has to deal with. He’s the coach of the Yankees and everyone expects him to win.”

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Edwards let the cat out of the bag yesterday when a television reporter asked him about his conversation with “Torre.” Edwards thought he was being asked about a talk he had with third-string quarterback Tory Woodbury, who after scrambling for 13 yards and a first down in Thursday night’s 16-6 win in Pittsburgh, signaled first down a’la an official.

“I’m a real believer that when you do certain things as a football player that’s kind of your job,” Edwards said. “Like when you catch the ball and make a first down or you make a great tackle, that’s your job. Your job is not to entertain everyone after you’ve made that play.

“I don’t like those guys that are, ‘First down!’ ” continued Edwards. “Beating your chest after you make a tackle. We don’t have to do all that. That’s bush-league football. That’s not being a professional.”

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Edwards’ biggest concern coming out of the Pittsburgh game was the Jets’ poor performance in third-down situations, especially on defense. The Jets converted 47 percent of their offensive third downs but allowed the Steelers to convert 50 percent of theirs.

“Offensively we did a nice job,” Edwards said. “Defensively, not good enough. We want to be in the 30s on defense. Offensively we’d like to be in the high 50s, 60 really.”

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DE Riley Kleinhesselink suffered a left ankle strain and did not practice yesterday. NT Nick Ferguson, who suffered a right wrist sprain Thursday night against the Steelers, practiced with protective padding.